National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum

To honor the men and women in uniform, and those who have made the supreme sacrifice in the name of freedom for America, I cannot think of a better museum to visit during the month of November than National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum. As they said, picture is worth a thousand words, we can truly learn the many faces of war through camera lenses and art work. What: The National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum When: Saturday, November 14th, 2009, 1-3PM Where: 1801 South Indiana Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60616. 312-326-0270 Cost: $10 About the Museum The National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum inspires greater understanding of the real impact of war with a focus on Vietnam. The museum collects, preserves and exhibits art inspired by combat and created by veterans. In 1981, a few Vietnam combat veterans put together an artistic and historical collection that would become a timeless, humanistic statement of war on behalf of all veterans for future generations. The rare collection assembled by a group of veterans blossomed in the post-war era and has now grown into the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum (NVVAM), the worldÂÂ's only museum with a permanent collection focusing on the subject of war from an artistic perspective. Visitors express that this perspective is a universal message to all generations, and cultures. Today, NVVAM is still located in ChicagoÂÂ's South Loop and houses over 1500 works of art, including paintings, photography, sculpture, poetry and music. All the works in the MuseumÂÂ's permanent collection were created and comprised by more than 100 artists who chronicled their individual experiences from the Vietnam War. The artwork presented at the Museum provides a unique viewpoint on the controversial subject of war to all visitors. It is a tenuous and reflective balance of beauty and horror, giving unique insight into the psyche of combat veterans and consequential hindsight war leaves on its survivors. The collection is born from the sheer sentiment of those who personally experienced the immediate suffering and realities of war. ItÂÂ's clear the artists have experienced the creative and spontaneous insight, and intuition, that comes from witnessing the magnitude of human combat and death first-hand. For more info: Museum Website Above and Beyond Memorial DRIVING DIRECTIONS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION COMING FROM THE LOOP (CHICAGO DOWNTOWN) Driving: Michigan Avenue South to 18th Street. East on 18th Street block. Public Transportation: CTA bus number 1, 3, or 4 heading South to 18th Street. Walk 1 block East to the museum. COMING FROM SOUTH, INTERSTATE 55 Driving: Interstate 55 North towards Downtown area. Get off at Martin Luther King Drive . Go North on Martin Luther King Drive to 18th Street. Turn Left on 18th, down 2 blocks to the Museum. COMING FROM WEST, INTERSTATE 290 Driving: Interstate 290 East till the end, you will be on Congress Express Way East on Congress Express Way to Michigan. South on Michigan Avenue to 18th Street. East 1 block to the Museum COMING FROM EAST AND NORTHWEST, INTERSTATE 90-94 Driving: Interstate 90-94 . Get off at 18 Street EXIT. Go East on 18th Street for 6-7 blocks. The Museum is on the Southeast corner.